Spurrier Finds A Spare Part To Jump-start Uf's Machine

THE SPORTS COLUMN

October 19, 1997|By Larry Guest of The Sentinel Staff

AUBURN, ALA. — There's a popular theory among the Steve Spurrier worshippers that the inventive Florida Gators coach could plug, oh, say, Refrigerator Perry into his high-tech offense at quarterback and still win.

Spurrier more or less did just that Saturday in a huge game at Auburn, plucking a noted chow hound off his bench to deliver the winning touchdown drive. With the game and the Gators' repeat championship aspirations hanging in the balance, he tapped moon-faced, fifth-year senior walk-on Noah Brindise as his man, then promptly nursed the unknown grunt through the game-winning, 97-yard touchdown drive.

With Doug Johnson expected back at the wheel after a one-game suspension, this could go down as Brindise's 15 minutes of fame. But it was a corker for this embraceable pug who got his name because he was born during a flood, transferred from tiny Wingate College because he was bench-ridden, ate his way well past 240 pounds last season knowing he wouldn't be playing, then trimmed down with enough work during the past off-season to earn both a UF scholarship and Saturday's Kodak moment.

''I'm so happy he (Spurrier) gave me a chance,'' Brindise gushed after helping the once-beaten Gators to a 24-10 victory. ''This might be my only time to shine, so I'm happy I did.''

Last year was a much different story after Johnson beat him out for the No. 3 quarterback slot. Knowing he'd likely not play any significant minutes, Brindise sheepishly conceded his goal on UF road trips was to enjoy the team meals. ''I'd go back for seconds and thirds,'' grinned the self-effacing sports management major, who came to resemble one of those things that float over the Macy's Parade. By the end of spring practice, he had worked off more than 20 pounds, pointing to some golden moment that came in the third period Saturday.

When he trotted onto the field, the Jordan-Hare sellout was roaring after Auburn punted to Florida's 3. ''That's OK,'' Brindise laughed. ''The very first time I got in a game, we had the ball on something like the 2-inch line, but that was against Northern Illinois (1995) and we were ahead something like 65-2.'' Actually, it was 58-20, but you get the point.

This time, all of Gatordom and much of mankind's future were on his shoulders after starter Jesse Palmer began to sputter and Spurrier called Brindise's number with the game tied, 10-10. But let's not give all the credit for that magnificent, 14-play, 97-yard scoring drive to Noah. He did cap it off with a nifty little 10-yard strike to Jacquez Green. But relentless tailback Fred Taylor bullied the ball out of the shadow of UF's goalpost for breathing room, and Spurrier did much of the rest.

There's no one in football not wearing shoulder pads who has as much effect on what's happening on the field as Spurrier. He doesn't just coach; he quarterbacks. And to help Brindise, he not only called every play but had Noah looking at him just before each snap for the go-ahead on the called play or the signal for an audible.

After the go-ahead TD, the newly sensible Spurrier did his best imitation of the late Woody Hayes. ''We just tried to make some first downs and not do anything stupid,'' said Spurrier, who did the latter in come-from-ahead losses to Auburn in '93 and '94. Certain scholars - including Spurrier - were baffled by Auburn's passive plan to contain Florida this time around. A week ago, LSU displayed the blueprint for beating Florida: shuffle in fresh troops to constantly blitz the UF quarterback. The plan seemed even more advisable Saturday with Spurrier saddled with inexperienced rookies at the wheel.

But Auburn was content to rush three or four linemen most of the time, giving Palmer and Brindise time to control their pulse and locate a receiver. The fatal result: no Auburn sacks.

The widespread suspicion is that word of the LSU game hadn't yet filtered into the Loveliest Village on the Plain. We do know, however, that the results of the last Olympics have made it to Auburn, because the school's medal-winning swimmers were saluted at halftime. Appropriate on a day when the game's singular hero was a guy who practically had to breaststroke his way into this life.